By Scott Tibbs, February 22, 2012
The Obama regime's efforts to force Christian organizations (including hospitals and charities) to provide birth control illustrates this President's hostility toward both Christians and individual liberty.
Obama and his allies have couched this debate in terms of "women's rights" - that women should not lose the "right" to birth control simply because of who their employer happens to be. But this indicates a fundamental misunderstanding with what rights actually are.
In order for something to be a right, it must exist without anyone else needing to sacrifice. For example, I have the right to free speech, the right to freedom of religion, the right to be secure in my person and papers from unreasonable searches by government. No one has to sacrifice in order for me to have those rights. No one has to give up any liberty in order for me to have those rights.
In order for someone to have the "right" to have any drug covered by their insurance plan, that "right" must be imposed on someone else. Either the Christian groups will need to pay for it directly or their insurance company will have to cover it. (This means that the Christian groups will pay indirectly through their premiums. Insurance companies don't have a money tree.) The government is using force to mandate that one entity pay for the drugs of someone else. That is not a representation of "rights." That is redistribution of wealth.
The reality is that there is not one single woman who has had her "right" to birth control denied. The women who want birth control are free to pay for it themselves. What this represents is an entitlement mentality - that people expect someone else to pay for what they want.
It is inconceivable that this nation's founding fathers would have ever agreed to force any Christian charity, university, or hospital to violate their religious beliefs or face action against them by government. Obama's ruling is a direct violation of the First Amendment's prohibition on government interference with the free exercise of religion. Obama's arrogant power grab and lawless behavior is another reason why he must be fired from his job in November.
